Iowa State Travels to No. 22 Kansas

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State will look to get back to its winning ways Wednesday evening when it takes on No. 22 Kansas. The match between the Cyclones (10-6 overall, 4-2 Big 12) and the Jayhawks (16-4 overall, 6-1 Big 12) will begin at 6:30 p.m. from the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence and be televised by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (formerly Metro Sports) in the Kansas City area. For those outside the viewing area, the match will be shown on ESPN3.com.

Fans can also follow the match via live stats from kuathletics.com, while cyclones.com will be hosting a live blog during the match.

Cyclone Headlines

Iowa State will look to make its way back up the Big 12 standings Wednesday night in a showdown between two of the top teams in the conference as the Cyclones face No. 22 Kansas at 6:30 p.m. The match will be shown on Metro Sports out of Kansas City and on ESPN3.com.

The Cyclones are 10-6 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play after falling in four sets at No. 3 Texas, who has now moved up to No. 1 in the country in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.

ISU was able to get Texas out of system in the first set to earn a 25-19 set win. However, the Longhorns were able to put together timely runs to help close out the other three sets. Mackenzie Bigbee led three Cyclones with at least 10 kills with 13 kills. Tory Knuth chipped in four service aces, and Caitlin Nolan led the defense with 15 digs.

Kristen Hahn continues to be one of the best liberos in the coutnry. The senior leads the Big 12 and is ranked sixth nationally with 5.63 digs per set. She has won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award three times this season, bringing her career total to 15 awards, tying the conference record.

Iowa State has been one of the best serving teams in the country. The Cyclones, as they have for the entirety of the 2013 season, lead the Big 12 in service aces per set (1.65 per set) and are among the leaders in total aces in spite of playing the fewest sets in the league this year.

ISU has three of the top seven servers in the Big 12 at its disposal. Middle blocker Tory Knuth leads the Big 12 at 0.51 aces per set, Ciara Capezio ranks third at 0.32 aces per set and Caitlin Nolan ranks seventh at 0.30 aces per frame.

Since the start of BIg 12 play, Mackenzie Bigbee has been one of the top attackers in the conference while transitioning to playing all six rotations. In Big 12 action, Bigbee is averaging 3.62 kills per set and 2.43 digs per set.

Five of Iowa State’s six losses have come to teams with an RPI in the top-25. Those losses were to Texas (No. 1), Nebraska (No. 13), Oklahoma (No. 15), San Diego (No. 20) and Illinois (No. 25). At No. 53 in the RPI, St. Mary’s is ISU’s other loss in 2013.

About No. 22 Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks come into Wednesday’s match with a 16-4 overall record and in second place of the Big 12 standings with a 6-1 conference mark, their only Big 12 loss being a four-setter in Lawrence against Texas.

The Jayhawks earned a four-set win at West Virginia Saturday. WVU took the first set 28-26 before KU rattled off the next three sets. Catherine Carmichael led Kansas with 18 kills.

Like Iowa State, Kansas is strong at the setter and libero positions. KU setter Erin McNorton has led the Big 12 throughout the season in assists per set and libero Brianne Riley has consistently been among the top-three in digs per set this year.

Kansas is the top blocking team in the Big 12 this year, averaging 2.80 blocks per set. Freshman Tayler Soucie leads the Big 12 at 1.34 blocker per set and Carolina Jarmoc is third at 1.30 blocks per set.

Wednesday will mark the 83rd meeting all-time between KU and ISU, with the Cyclones holding a 45-36-1 all-time lead in the series.

KU won in five sets in Lawrence last season before Iowa State took the match in Ames in four sets.